Because it has access to all devices and appliances in your home, a smart gateway can apply pre-programmed guidelines to prioritize, cycle, and alter set-points to bring energy output down to pre-established levels. It can also send you warnings or alerts, giving you the option to override the system and make your own choices about what to do.

Because it has access to
all devices and appliances in your home, a smart gateway can apply
pre-programmed guidelines to prioritize, cycle, and alter set-points to
bring energy output down to pre-established levels. It can also send you
warnings or alerts, giving you the option to override the system and
make your own choices about what to do.

The deregulation of energy utilities is happening
everywhere. If it hasn't come to where you live yet, chances are it will soon.
That's why we all sat up and took notice this summer when residents of San
Diego, California, one of the first areas of the country to become fully
deregulated, saw their electricity bills more than double.

There is no single approach to the process of
deregulation. Each state has options to structure things differently, and
hopefully we'll all learn from the disastrous experience in San Diego. The
challenge and the process are complex and many layered. Yet in all the
complexity, one thing is certain. New technologies such as residential gateways
are going to be a key part of the solution.

Fundamentally, we're facing the classic case of
supply and demand. Deregulation exposes energy consumers to true energy costs
and the vagaries of the open market. Recent news reports have also highlighted
an aging and overburdened infrastructure for the supply and distribution of
electricity. Current consumption, boosted by the high-technology industry, has
outpaced power generation development. And analysts predict our demand for
electricity will continue to rise at a fairly rapid rate. The result is that
natural events such as a surge in temperature can easily trigger massive
shortages and price variations.

Residential Gateway Solution

To meet future energy demand, more power plants
are planned, renewable resources are being researched, and progress is being
made on better methods for storing and transmitting electrical power. But all
this takes time and considerable financial investment. Additionally, the
ecological impact of generating new power supplies is an issue that must be
addressed. Thus, most experts agree that even as we improve our ability to
create and distribute energy, we also need to become more efficient in our use
of it. If we don't, the costs will be high, in both environmental and economic
terms.

The residential gateway is poised to have a huge
positive impact, both in the implementation of deregulation and in meeting the
larger energy supply challenge. Along with the smart meter, the residential
gateway plays an essential role in allowing both energy utility companies and
their customers to better manage energy use. Its precise and timely consumption
data enable a smoother supply and demand response. It also enables the shaping
of a more informed, predictable and controlled demand, which will mitigate the
need for new power plants, thus lowering the cost of generation. This bolstering
of the efficient management of energy resources will in turn have a significant
impact on our environment.

Informed Energy Use

Do you know which of your appliances is the
biggest energy hog? How much electricity does it take to leave the fountain on
in the garden 24/7? To leave the hot tub warmed up? To leave the computer on all
day? At what point do space heaters become more efficient than heating the
entire house?

Systems generally work most efficiently when some
kind of feedback loop helps them stay on target. The current feedback you get
from your monthly electric utility bill probably doesn't supply the level of
detail that would facilitate or encourage you to change your daily habits.

Electricity providers will use residential
gateways to enable value-added e-services, such as the ability to remotely
monitor and control lighting or temperatures. But because they'll already
receive input from every electrical device or system in your home, residential
gateways can also provide the information link you need to personally and
effectively manage your energy use.

Lower Costs with Tiered Pricing

Most consumers aren't motivated to alter energy
use when the difference is only a few pennies or a small fraction of the bill.
But multiply that fraction times several thousand homes during a peak period,
and you've got enough increased consumption to trigger a price increase of 50
percent or more. Experts
analyzing the San Diego energy crunch have estimated that if overall usage had
been just 10 percent lower during the period of record temperatures and
increased demand, the rate hike crisis could have been averted. Even worse than
a simple rate increase, in some cases, are the costs and consequences associated
with an unplanned outage in a typical electricity-dependent home or business.

To avoid costly blackouts and brownouts, as well
as the unwelcome price spikes that result from having to buy when electricity is
at a premium on the market, pundits predict that utilities under deregulation
will increase their offering of management incentives such as tiered pricing.
Tiered pricing plans set thresholds of energy consumption above which prices can
increase dramatically. And like long-distance telephone rates, electricity
prices are highest when demand is greatest, so the plans usually include a time
element too.

A tiered pricing plan can actually save you
money, as long as you have access to reliable information tools that allow you
to take advantage of it. What you need is detailed consumption data, available
on a frequent or real-time basis, and a warning system to let you know when your
use approaches cost threshold levels.

Smart Home Energy Manager

At its most sophisticated, the residential
gateway plays an even larger role in the efficient management of your energy
consumption and budget. It can be programmed to make sure your usage levels stay
under cost thresholds without compromising comfort or essential functions.
Before a peak level is reached, the gateway can raise the air conditioning
thermostat by three degrees, shut off the pool pump, and ask you politely if you
would consider waiting until after 6 p.m. to use the clothes dryer.

Because it has access to all devices and
appliances in your home, a smart gateway can apply pre-programmed guidelines to
prioritize, cycle, and alter set-points to bring energy output down to
pre-established levels. It can also send you warnings or alerts, giving you the
option to override the system and make your own choices about what to do.

The residential gateway in your future isn't just
for fun and convenient new e-services. It will be a hard-working, practical
energy manager too, an indispensable part of your household.